A method corresponding to that described in the prior art section of the main claim has become known through DE 31 36 746 C2. In this method, the relevant parameters of the device are made known to the control configuration by means of a sensor apparatus. Continuously, the control configuration is informed, among other things, of the direction of movement, the position and the speed of the device. In order that this information may be as precise as possible, the sensor apparatus allocated to each device consists of two sensor elements, arranged out-of-line. If such an arrangement is chosen, however, each sensor element needs costly individual carrier elements and resistors.